Egyptians vote ‘yes’ in referendum

POPULAR CHOICE?：Although the plebiscite returned a massive ‘yes’ vote, it is not yet clear how many voters turned up to cast their ballots to back a new constitution

AFP, CAIRO

Fri, Jan 17, 2014 - Page 7

Egyptian voters overwhelmingly backed a new constitution that paves the way for Egyptian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief General Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to run for president, results showed yesterday, but turnout figures will provide a key measure of his popularity.

Initial tallies reported by state media gave 90 percent support for the new charter, which the military-installed authorities say provides greater protection for freedom of speech and women’s rights.

The result of the referendum was always a foregone conclusion, with the Muslim Brotherhood, designated a “terrorist organization” by the government, calling for a boycott and little sign of a “No” campaign in the run-up to the vote.

Officials have said that al-Sisi, who toppled former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi in July last year, will closely monitor turnout as he mulls going for the top job himself in an election promised for later this year.

Sisi has said he is prepared to run if there is enough popular support and the two-day referendum that wrapped up on Wednesday provides the first concrete test.

The military’s spokesman thanked the “masses” of voters for taking part in what he called the “heroic battle of the referendum.”

Egyptian state-run dailies hailed the vote.

“The people say ‘Yes,’” said a front-page headline in al-Akhbar, while al-Ahram reported that 90 percent of voters had voted in favor of the charter.

On Tuesday, sporadic clashes between Morsi supporters and their opponents and police left at least nine people dead, but no fatal incidents were reported on Wednesday. At least 444 people were arrested for protesting and disrupting polling over the two-day vote, the Egyptian Ministry of the Interior said.

The government said it was aiming for a larger turnout than the 33 percent of the country’s 53 million registered voters who cast a ballot in a constitutional referendum under Morsi in 2012, with 64 percent voting yes.

The new text has done away with much of the Islamist-inspired wording of Morsi’s charter. It bolsters the military’s powers and allows it to try civilians for attacks on the armed forces.

Morsi’s Brotherhood was designated a terrorist group by the military-installed authorities as part of their crackdown on the movement that dominated all previous polls since the ouster of long-time former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in early 2011.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said he hoped the referendum would be “transparent and accountable.”

“But we don’t know yet,” he told reporters in Kuwait.

On Tuesday, the Department of State said a bill in the US Congress expected to pass today would allow the White House to unfreeze all US$1.5 billion in US aid if it can certify Egypt “has held a constitutional referendum and is taking steps to support a democratic transition.”